21 months old

Dear James,

You are 21 months old and this last month there have been some BIG changes at our house. You are now a BIG brother! Your baby brother Michael was born 10 days ago but we have only been home for three days. Saturday morning, the day after we came home from the hospital, you woke up with 103 fever and Daddy took you to the pediatrician. You tested positive for the flu and the doctor strongly recommended that Michael and Mommy stay somewhere else until you were well. Michael and Mommy spent three nights in Fort Worth at Grandma-ma and Papa's house. Those were very hard three days for Mommy because I wanted to be at home to take care of you. My first night in the hospital was the first night I ever spent away from you but I did see you everyday when you came to visit. Sunday and Monday in Fort Worth were the only two days I have ever not seen you in your whole life. Mommy was very sad to be away from you but knew it was best for Michael. I was so happy when we came home on Tuesday when our family of four finally all got to be together!

When anyone asks how you are doing my answer is that you are adjusting. You are excited to have Michael home and are already helpful by finding a binky/paci when he cries or patting him gently on the shoulder or back but you do not like sharing Mommy or Daddy. When I am feeding, changing, or holding Michael you want to be held too. You say "hold you" meaning you want Mommy to hold you. It melts my heart every time! Daddy and Mommy both are making special time for just you because you will always be our baby boy, even though you are now a big brother!

The picture above was taken two mornings ago, after the first night we were finally all back home together. Those are your pj's you picked out to sleep in. You had a bath and Daddy dressed you in your regular warm pj's. You threw a fit and finally told Mommy that you wanted to wear something else so I let you pick out what you wanted to sleep in. You chose your TCU shirt, plaid Polo shorts, grey Puma socks, and brown shoes. And yes, you slept in your shoes. You LOVE shoes. The next morning you were still so proud of your outfit I had to take a picture! The picture was taken with my phone so it is a little fuzzy but still so cute.

So James Peyton, what are you up to at 21 months old?

You are 35 inches tall and weigh 29 pounds

You wear a size 5 diaper and a size 7 shoe

You wear a size 2T shirt and pants

You have almost 8 teeth on the bottom and 8 teeth on the top

Your vocabulary is amazing. I can't even count how many words you know and use each day. I need to start keeping a notebook and write down everything you say because there are many days when you use a word and I had no idea you even knew the word! You don't say all words perfectly but we know what you are saying. You say Myul for Michael and my favorite two words you say now are Mommy and Daddy. We are not Mama and Dada anymore. You know all of your colors and can count to 10. We don't get very far past 10 yet because once we reach 10 you get so excited, clap, and say "yay!!!!!". You know so many animals and the sounds they make. Your favorite animal right now is a monkey. You also can sing your ABC's as long as we sing with you!

You like to sing Twinkle, Twinkle, Little Star and you and Daddy sing "Love Me Do" together. I have to video it, you are the cutest little boy I know.

You love to read books, we read at least 5 or 6 each night and some of them we have to read twice. You point out and name all of the pictures on the page. Your favorite books right now are Courdoroy's Snow Day, Where is the Monkey, Elmo One, Two, Zoo and Potty Time With Elmo.

You love sports and say golf, basketball, and up ball (for football) You love watching sports with Daddy and playing basketball in our living room. The 4 ft. basketball goal you got for Christmas is inside right now and you and Daddy play almost every night!

You still love school at BCDC (Brookhaven Child Development Center) and all of the teachers love you! They say you are the sweetest boy and love to sit in teacher's laps and give hugs.

You love to give Mommy and Daddy kisses and as soon as you do you always say, "hug" right after and give us big hugs. It is the sweetest thing!

You have a new favorite character-you love Mickey Mouse. You still like Elmo but not quite as much as Mickey. You love to watch Mickey Mouse Playhouse. Hot dog, hot dog, hot diggety dog...

Your hair is very long and you will be getting a haircut soon (your 7th one). We love your long hair but it is now in your eyes and tickels your ears.

I can't believe in three short months you will be two years old! We love you so much and are so proud to be your Mommy and Daddy.

Love,
Mommy

Brothers

These pictures are of James meeting Michael for the first time! I was holding Michael when James came in and I could tell he didn't like it so we decided for Grandma-ma to officially introduce them. The fourth picture is my favorite but the look on James' face in the last picture is priceless!

Michael Scott has arrived!

Michael Scott has arrived! Michael was born on January 18, 2011 at 1:56 p.m. He weighed 8 lbs 14 oz and measured 21.5 inches long. He is beautiful and healthy with a head full of black hair. We are so happy he is finally here!

Michael's delivery was much different from his brother's because I wasn't in labor for 24 hours and it was a scheduled c-section. I was so much more relaxed since I knew exactly what to expect. I even had the same anesthesiologist and nurse anethetist in the operating room! They both remembered us too. We checked into the hospital at 10:30 a.m. and surgery was scheduled for noon. Our nurse told us that my doctor, Dr. Matthews, had an emergency surgery so we would be running a little late. We were very relaxed and just hung out with Mom and Papa while we waited for Dr. Matthews. We were of course anxious to meet Michael but were happy to not BE the emergency. I walked into the operating room and sat down on the table, again very different from the first time around since I had already been in labor and had the epidural. The anesthesiologist gave me the epidural and I have never liked needles so for me this was the worst part. I remember squeezing Sean's hand so hard the nurse suggested he give me a little "top shelf margarita" to take the edge off. It helped immensely. We then were all talking and joking. The nurse anethetist realized he remembered us and his name is James so we of course remembered him too. The surgery began and about 15 minutes later Michael arrived! There was music on and I remember Jason Mraz "I'm Yours" was playing and I thought how special the song will now be since we were listening to it when Michael was born! Hearing him cry for the first time was amazing. I remember when Dr. Matthews first saw James he said, "Look at those cheeks!" This time he said, "Look at that hair!" and Michael's hair is so funny because it sticks up everywere. I watched as he was weighed and measured then Sean put on his first diaper. I looked at our little miracle in awe and completely in love with him already. I held him as I was wheeled into recovery and I was a little out of it from the pain medication, even though I asked for as little pain meds as possible because I wanted to remember everything. We were in recovery for two hours and Michael nursed the entire time. We finally settled into our room around 5:00 p.m. and Sean went to pick up James so he could meet his little brother! It went as well as can be expected, James was a little unsure at first but then was very curious. Telling him a baby is in Mommy's tummy for months then meeting the baby is a little confusing. I know that siblings don't always get along but I hope and pray that James will love and protect his little brother and that they will someday be best friends.

At the Hospital

We checked in the hospital at 10:30 a.m. and surgery was scheduled for noon but Dr. Matthews is running behind schedule today. We are excited and ready to meet our baby boy!!!